How big a heater?

[Pete & Helen]

I'm thinking of getting a heater (electric oil filled) but what size would be recommended.

I don't want the biggest, I want the smallest I can get away with, maybe around 750watts

 

Its not to heat the boat but just as frost protection

 

I have a 57ft narrowboat, all steel with double glazed windows. most of the pipework is boxed in by cupboards or other fittings so not sure how effective a heater would even be. Water store is in the bow.

 

I don't want to drain down as I am on the boat at least 3 days a week

 

Any comments?

Edited January 10, 2014 by Pete & Helen

[John Williamson 1955]

If you can get access, then this style of low power heater below the pipework in each compartment/ cabin and a frost stat would be best.

 

http://www.cnmonline.co.uk/hylite-eco-tube-heater-31595.html?gclid=CPbimJuw9LsCFZLKtAodyxMANw

 

I'm not sure if that make are rated for unsupervised use on a boat, though.

[Keeping Up]

I have a couple of fan heaters of 1kw each, one at each end of the boat, with thermostats set to just above zero. They can keep the boat above freezing as long as the outside temperature is above -10. We don't have double glazing. They aren't rated for boat use, I don't know of any that are, but they do at least have overheat cutouts and an anti topple switch.

 

In our case it's belt and braces because I drain down as well, ever since we had a power cut over the coldest couple of days one winter - which on reflection is quite likely - and the calorifier bottom belled out with the pressure so it wobbled around like a child's "wobbly man" toy. If I were you I'd do at least a partial drain down when the weather is very cold, even if leaving for only a couple of nights.

Edited January 10, 2014 by Keeping Up

[kevinl]

Fan heater every time, in a larger space like that with boxed pipes convection heating wouldn't do it in my opinion you need something to spread the heat around. A cheap fan heater with a thermostat is about £15, I'd get 2 one at each end if you have shore power. Presumably the 3 days a week you're there the boat gets hot so it's only a back up. You could as others have done put thermal bricks around the fire surround, they store the heat when you're there and keep things warm for a while.

K

[blackrose]

I'm thinking of getting a heater (electric oil filled) but what size would be recommended.

I don't want the biggest, I want the smallest I can get away with, maybe around 750watts

 

Its not to heat the boat but just as frost protection

 

I have a 57ft narrowboat, all steel with double glazed windows. most of the pipework is boxed in by cupboards or other fittings so not sure how effective a heater would even be. Water store is in the bow.

 

I don't want to drain down as I am on the boat at least 3 days a week

 

Any comments?

 

Whatever size you get make sure it's thermostatically controlled. So you can just set it on 5 or 6 C and when the temperature drops it will switch itself on.

Fan heater every time, in a larger space like that with boxed pipes convection heating wouldn't do it in my opinion you need something to spread the heat around.

 

Not true. I used an oil filled radiator all winter last year when I was working away from the boat and only coming back on weekends. Convection occurs on its own - it's a natural phenomenon. I could feel the heat as soon as I walked in the door with the rad 30ft away in the next room via a corridor. Think about it, a solid fuel stove works on a narrowboat without a fan by convection. An oil filled rad used on an unoccupied boat only has to raise the temperature by a few degrees.

 

In addition, oil filled rads are most definitely the safest type of heater to use with the boat unoccupied.

Edited January 10, 2014 by blackrose

[WotEver]

Think about it, a solid fuel stove works on a narrowboat without a fan by convection...

 

Well, some folk would say that the EcoFan...

 

Oh, okay...

 

Tony

[Orca]

In 6 Winter's aboard I've never had a problem with the 2kw oil filled rad we use when not on the boat for a few days. It's adjustable, so I have it on anything from 500w - 1kw depending on impending conditions. I put it in the mid-section (65ft boat) and on return it has the whole boat fairly toasty. It worked fine in the very severe conditions of Dec 2010+ when I was working away for up to 10 days at a time (went down to -18 for a bit too).